Goodnight Kisses
by Kiterie
Summary: A series of shorts on kisses, KakaIru. Dedicated to Fu-Fu on DA
1. Sunset

This is a series of 5 shorts I wrote for a contest on the KakaIru LJ community. All are under 500 words. This was a challenge I put for myself. The contest was 5 locations (excluding specific ones), a theme, and somebody had to walk in on them at some point. I decided to focus on the description of the location, have them each less than 500 words (this is hard for me oddly most of my chapters are over 1000 pretty easily), and the theme is kisses. I might continue this to do other themes in series of 5 shorts / theme when I have more time.

--

It started when Iruka was sitting on top of the Hokage monument. Ever since Naruto had gone to train with Jiraiya, the village had been a lot quieter, and Iruka had been a lot less busy. So, on Wednesday, when he normally headed for ramen at Ichiraku's, he decided he didn't really feel up to eating alone and instead headed for the monument.

The sun was starting to set, the colors blending together till they were like a fire on the horizon. Iruka sighed as he watched day slowly fading. He wished the day would pass into night so it could just be over, and he could mark another day as gone. If he could just stop pretending he wasn't lonely, maybe things would be easier.

Despite what everyone thought, Iruka didn't have a lot of close friends. The ones he did have were out on missions a lot or had significant others they liked to spend their evenings with. The result was that Iruka spent his alone. He could probably go to the bar and some of them would be there, but... it'd never really been his kind of thing and only made him feel more out of place.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The voice came from behind him, and Iruka spun around, surprised. He hadn't sensed anyone, but, when he caught sight of the copy-nin, he realized most probably wouldn't have noticed the man's presence any sooner.

"What?" Startled, he couldn't recall what the man had asked.

"The sunset, Konoha... It's beautiful." Kakashi wasn't really looking at him, rather behind and off to the distance.

"Yeah..." Iruka turned back around, settling again and stretching his legs out in front of him. "My mother said the sunset made her think of a parent tucking her child into bed. She said the sun was trying to bless them with the last bits of warmth as Konoha closes it's eyes. Like a good-night kiss."

"Sounds like something a mother would say," the other man chuckled as he sat down next to Iruka.

They sat there until the sun was gone and only the barest color remained in the sky. Neither of them said anything, but Iruka didn't mind; it was nice to have the copy-nin's company. Reluctantly, Iruka dusted his pants off and stood, still staring out at the horizon; this time wishing the moment could last and knowing it couldn't.

"Iruka..." Kakashi's voice was quiet but the chunin heard and turn to smile at him. "Thank you."

Iruka was going to say something, tell him that his thanks was unnecessary, that he too had enjoyed watching the sunset with the other. He was, but, before he could, the silver-haired man leaned forward and planted a soft, covered kiss on his lips; and, the words had simply melted with the last rays of light. "Good-night, Iruka."

And, before he could recover, Kakashi was gone in puff of smoke. Iruka reached up and touched his lips, slightly confused.


	2. Hero

A week passed without Iruka seeing the silver-haired shinobi. He worried, at first, that Kakashi was avoiding him. Then, when he saw the names of those out on missions, he worried more but for an entirely different reason. It wasn't like a week was that long for a mission, but the fact somehow didn't ease the chunin's mind.

Iruka shoved the negative thoughts aside as he ran along the path that wound through the trees just outside Konoha. Of course, the moment he tried to stop worry about Kakashi, he started thinking about the kiss, and that was just as, if not more, distracting. Smiling, the chunin pushed himself to run harder so he'd have to think about his breathing.

After an hour of running at near break-neck speed around the village, Iruka leaned against a tree, panting heavily. It really shouldn't have worn him out so quickly, but he'd had surprising difficulty controlling his breathing. His chest hurt, and his legs felt wobbly. He cursed and shook his head at his own foolish inability to focus.

The crashing sound startled him out of his daze, and Iruka whipped around the tree looking for the source. At first, he couldn't see anyone, but he could feel another ninja's chakra and knew he wasn't alone. It was erratic and barely there, but he could feel it somewhere close by.

His eyes took note of the broken twig; it's end slightly darker than the rest of it. It wasn't until he saw the drop fall that he realized it was wet with blood. As the drop disappeared, Iruka noted the small break in the underbrush.

Leaping to the trees, he secured an explosive tag to the kunai he'd unconsciously drawn. Then, as quietly as he could, he moved so he could see into the break; as he did he caught sight of the ANBU uniform. Realizing it was a Konoha shinobi, by the design, he leapt down, hoping the man was still alive.

Iruka hesitated for a barest of moments before pulling the porcelain mask off. Mismatched eyes stared up at him, and he found he couldn't break the other man's gaze. Kakashi coughed, the wet sound was enough to focus the chunin, who immediately took stock of the other's injuries. There was a lot of blood, the normally silver hair was dark with it and appeared more brown in the soft light of the early evening. One shoulder appeared to be out of it's socket, and there was a gash across the other. A kunai stuck out from the jounin's thigh.

Throwing the kunai high into the air, he activated the tag. Then, as carefully as he could, Iruka slid one arm under Kakashi's and the other under his knees. The injured jounin grunted, and he murmured an apology. Slowly, he stood and began carrying the other towards the gates.

They hadn't even broken through the line of trees when Kakashi spoke, the words too faint for Iruka to make out.

"You shouldn't talk, save your strength," he said, frowning worriedly as he shifted the man's weight.

There was a soft chuckle from the copy-nin. Iruka hadn't realized how close Kakashi's face was to his until the soft fabric of the man's masked touched his cheek. "My hero..."

Startled, Iruka turned to look at the man in his arms only to realize Kakashi had passed out.


	3. Coward

Iruka downed the last of his coffee and rubbed the scar across his nose unconsciously. The monitors beeped in their odd but steady patterns as the numbers and lines flickered on the screen. The oxygen level danced slowly from 97 to 98, and then back again, while the jounin's heart rate remained a steady 63.

He could feel the way sleep tugged at the edges of his mind, trying to draw him away again into the comfort of its arms. Instead of giving in to the desire to simply rest his eyes for a few moments, the chunin stood and paced around the room. In truth, he should leave, and he knew it. He had to be up at the academy by 7:00, but he couldn't bring himself to go.

Hours passed and the sky outside darkened as its only light became the stars and sliver of yellowish-white hanging in it's depths. A nurse came in and removed the dinner tray she'd brought for him when she realized he was still here. Most of the rather bland food was still on it, a crust forming over it's now cold surface. She told him that visiting hours really were over and that he should go. Her voice was gentle but held a warning tone.

Iruka sighed and walked to the bedside again, looking down at Kakashi as the man slept. "I'm glad you're okay." Sleep tugging at his mind even more persistently, he leaned over and placed a gentle kiss against the fabric covered lips. "Goodnight, Kakashi."

The surprised squeak from the direction of the door drew his attention, and he looked up just as Sakura dropped her clipboard and fled out the door. His exhaustion vanished as the blood rushed to his face.

He'd just made up his mind to find her and explain that it wasn't what it seemed, he'd even moved towards the door, when Tsunade walked through it.

"Sakura tells me you're in here molesting my patient?" The Hokage asked, smirking.

"I... it..." he stuttered, trying to force the explanation out.

"He'll be fine. You, however, look like you're about to pass out," she chuckled. "You should get some rest. You've been up since yesterday morning, correct? And, I believe you have a class to teach tomorrow?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Iruka said, finally recovering slightly.

She showed him towards the door with one hand as she walked over to the side of the bed.

--

"You can stop feigning sleep now, he's gone," she said as she scribbled a few things on the clip board. The man's eyes remained closed.

"If you don't stop pretending, I'm going to stick a very cold thermometer someplace 'very' uncomfortable." One gray eye opened to scowl at the blonde woman.

"That's better." She smiled before scribbling more notes down then began taking the man's vitals. He yelped and glared at her again when she slid the ice cold stethoscope against his back. "That's for being a coward."


	4. Cornered

Iruka spotted the tuft of silver when he was a block and a half away. He'd stopped by the grocer on his way home, to pick something up for dinner, and that's when he'd caught site of the other man.

He handed the money to Aina before pushing his way through the crowded streets, heading after Kakashi. Iruka tried to appear as though he wasn't chasing the other man down but he got a few irritated looks from citizens he nearly knocked over. A little old lady, who was particularly put out by the way pushed passed her, smacked him with her cane. He winced, appologized, and continued in the direction he'd been heading.

Kakashi turned a corner and when the chunin reached it, he realized he'd lost the copy-nin. Spinning around, Iruka tried to decide where the silver-haired man had disappeared to. There was a bar on the corner. No, he decided, he'd have seen him if he'd gone in there. A small restaurant serving various fried foods but he disregarded it as well. He vaguely remembered Kakashi mentioning he didn't care for the stuff when Sakura had suggested it, complaining she was tired of ramen.

That left several weapons shops, a clothing store, and a bookstore. Iruka smiled, and stalked knowingly towards the run down building that housed the new and used bookstore. It was in need of a coat of paint and a new door hanging. The current one that was up had large rips in it and was discolored from the sunlight. He gently shoved it to the side and step into the dusty store.

He spotted Kakashi immediately, the jounin's distinctive mess of silver hair poking above the top of the bookshelves. Smiling at the man behind the counter Iruka walked over to where Kakashi stood thumbing through a book. After a moment, Kakashi looked up, seemingly surpised. "Iruka... s...sensei."

A sudden bout of nerves hit him, twisting his stomach into knots, but he shoved it away. "Why did you kiss me?" Iruka was surprised at how easy it was to ask and wondered if it had anything to do with Kakashi's reaction to seeing him.

The moment was short-lived however, as the other man quickly regained his own composure. "Why did you kiss me, Iruka-sensei?"

"Because... because you kissed me!" Iruka felt the blood rush to his cheeks and wondered how Kakashi had known.

"I don't think tha'ts why. Admit it, you kissed me because you 'wanted' to, because it felt right." Kakashi set his book down and leaned forward. "This really isn't the place I had in mind to discuss this." Despite the hushed tones, the words sounded overly loud to the chunin, and he blushed a deeper shade of red.

Iruka felt Kakashi touch his elbow and the brush of cloth against his cheeks as the silver-haired man pulled away . "Good-night Tomo," Kakashi said smiling as he made the handsign to teleport them both away.


	5. Sunlight

Sunlight filtered through the crack above the blind and the top of the window, flickering across the tanned face. Iruka covered his eyes in a half-hearted attempt to remain asleep. He shifted on the soft, over stuffed couch.

"Good-morning sleepy head," came the amused voice of somebody standing over him.

"Tell the sun to go away," he complained, his arm still draped over his face.

"It's not the sun's fault you stayed up half the night," the other chuckled.

"No, it was yours, so, you should make it go away so your new boyfriend can sleep" Iruka never would have figured the laid back jounin for a 'morning person.' "I can't believe you're awake. I feel like I just got to sleep."

"How do you managed to keep up with all those mini-nins if you can't even get out of bed in the mornings?" Kakashi teased back.

"I don't usually stay up until kami knows when talking to perverted jounin who probably sleep all day so they can stay up all night."

There was a flapping sound and a sudden flare of light his arm couldn't keep out completely. "I made breakfast," Kakashi said far too cheerfully.

"Breakfast or no breakfast, you're evil." Squinting and trying to peek from beneath the protection of his arm, the chunin tried to glare at the other man, who merely laughed at him. "Why did I agree to go out with you again?"

Shadows flitted across his vision and suddenly a warm mouth covered his, nibbling softly at his bottom lip before lapping at the sensitized skin. He moaned and open his mouth slightly to allow the other access. Fingers brushed his cheek gently as the other deepened the kiss. Iruka gave up sheltering his eyes so that he could thread all of his fingers through the soft silver hair, returning the gentle passion of the kiss with a hunger he hadn't been aware of until the evening before.

Kakashi broke the kiss and smiled down at him, and he shivered at the intense look in the jounin's mismatched eyes. "Oh, yeah, now I remember."

"Well, if you forget again let me know. I'm more than happy to remind you," the silver-haired man laughed as he stood and held out his hand.

A relaxed smile spread across the chunin's face as he took the other's hand. "I think I'm going to need lots of reminders." Iruka grinned mischeviously as he suddenly yanked on other's arm, pulling the jounin down onto the couch with him. "Yep, I've already forgotten."

And the sun continued it's climb acorss the bright blue sky. It's light filled the small, sparsely decorated apartment, oblivious to the two men sprawled contently on the couch.


End file.
